Apple® today announced iPhone® 5, the thinnest and lightest iPhone ever, completely redesigned to feature a stunning new 4-inch Retina™ display; an Apple-designed A6 chip for blazing fast performance; and ultrafast wireless technology—all while delivering even better battery life. iPhone 5 comes with iOS 6, the world’s most advanced mobile operating system with over 200 new features including: the all new Maps app with Apple-designed cartography and turn-by-turn navigation; Facebook integration; Passbook® organization; and even more Siri® features and languages.

Somewhat sadly, the rampant leaks of the past few months have been largely proven astoundingly accurate. For many, such a lack of surprise will lessen the significance of Apple's work. Although negativity in the aftermath of an Apple product announcement is typical, it's a shame that the leaks will be culpable for such an inevitable (albeit fleeting) response.

Listing the new features of the device, it's clear that Apple has done a great deal to iterate upon the iPhone 4S. Having dabbled with iOS 6 for the past few months, I can only imagine it will provide for a truly phenomenal experience.

In short, I'm very impressed by what Apple's achieved with the iPhone 5. I suspect that the improved battery life, 4-inch display, LTE, and lighter weight will drastically alter the current iPhone experience in a truly novel manner. I'll unquestionably be pre-ordering on Friday morning.

Beyond the relative lack of shock surrounding the iPhone 5, one element of the keynote that did manage to surprise me was the revelation of a redesigned iTunes 11. Apple PR:

Apple® today announced the new iTunes® for Mac® and PC featuring a completely redesigned player, seamless integration with iCloud®, and a stunning new look for the world’s most popular online music, apps, TV and movie stores. The new iTunes is coming in October and will feature a dramatically simpler and cleaner interface that keeps your favorite iTunes content at the forefront. With iCloud integration, your music, movie and TV purchases made on any of your iOS devices or computers is conveniently displayed in your iTunes library on your Mac or PC, available anytime you want them

Unavailable until late October, the new iteration of the oft-maligned piece of software has a brand new aesthetic that certainly looks compelling. Although the software is not yet available, the promise of deep-seated iCloud and iTunes in the Cloud integration sounds exciting, indeed.

Finally, Apple announced the latest updates for the iPod family, the vast majority of which struck me as somewhat uninteresting. Perhaps most notably, the Nano received an extraordinarily unattractive update.

Preorders for the iPhone 5 will open on Friday, September 14 with devices shipping on Friday, September 21. Pricing remains the same.

iOS 6 will seperately be released on September 19.

Following the release of the event's video later today (presumably), I intend to watch through the entirety of the announcements and follow-up with an analytical look at Apple's latest products and outlook.